We are thrilled to officially welcome Dennis Bisgaard as Penn Charter’s interim head of school!

With over 20 years of experience leading top independent schools across the country, Dennis brings to Penn Charter a deep commitment to student growth, community and Quaker principles and practices.

Dennis’s journey is shaped by a global life experience prior to his U.S. career as a classroom teacher, coach, advisor, and DEI practitioner. Most recently, he served as Head of Maret School in Washington, D.C., where he advanced strategic planning, curricular review, athletics facilities and community spaces. Previously, Dennis served as Interim Head of School at Friends School of Baltimore, Park Tudor School, and The Northwest School. He spent 12 years as Head of Kingswood Oxford School in Connecticut, where he expanded fundraising and academic opportunities, strengthened facilities, and founded the Kingswood Oxford Leadership Institute for Educators of Color.

Dennis also served as Founding Head at Whittle School & Studios in D.C., Associate Head at Shady Hill School in Cambridge, and as a teacher and administrator at Collegiate School in New York City and Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore. Dennis holds advanced degrees from Columbia University and Odense Universitet in Denmark and has served on the NAIS Board of Trustees.

From the beginning of our interim head of school search, Penn Charter looked for an interim head whose presence, warmth and capacity for genuine engagement would reinforce Penn Charter’s mission, culture and Quaker values. We believe Dennis will not only serve as a stable leader for the next two academic years but will also continue to advance Penn Charter’s essential strategic planning work in preparation for a permanent head of school to begin in 2028.